Ng'arua Maarifa Centre was established by ALIN, to be used by the rural communities to access; free internet, E-government services, multimedia content, online market information, publications and library, advisory services and ICT trainings.

Pages

Friday, November 6, 2015

Kenyan youths renounce crime to protect forests

By Kagondu Njagi, BRACED

THARAKA NITHI, Kenya -
Groups of reformed youths who once sold drugs and stole from their neighbours
are helping protect trees in rural central Kenya from illegal loggers.

The young adults, whose
previous activities were a source of community tension, now report suspicious
logging to village authorities. They are also contributing to an effort to boost
Kenya's forest cover from 7 percent to 10 percent by 2030.

It has been illegal to
cut down trees in Kenya's forests since 1999, but a new constitution in 2010
extended the ban to rural farms unless the feller has an official permit.

Murithi Ntaru, a member
of the Muiru Youth Reform Group from the parched village of Weru in the
lowlands of Tharaka Nithi County, finds his new calling more fulfilling than
his former life dealing drugs.

"This is better than
when I would hide from the authorities for days as a drug peddler," said
Ntaru, 34, who has a friend in prison for narcotics-related offences. "I
now use the skills I learned when I was doing bad things to outsmart the timber
cartels." Added Ntaru.

He and other young people
resorted to crime to support themselves after the ban on cutting down public
forests put a stop to the lucrative local trade of transporting logs for sale,
which many had quit school to do.

Now their knowledge of
the timber trade is being put to good use. Group members select a specific
ringtone on their cell phones to notify each other when they are alerted to
tree-felling activities.

"The community tells
us when a timber broker is seen in the village or when a neighbour is planning
to meet the broker. When we report, the chief sends scouts to monitor the
suspects' movements," said Ntaru. "I feel safe because all I have to
do is send a text message to the chief."

In exchange for
information about illegal logging, the group is given the opportunity to sell
seedlings in new reforestation areas.

For the past three years,
the Muiru youth have run a tree nursery on the banks of the River Naka at the
behest of the county government, which identified an opportunity to protect
forests and channel young people's energy away from delinquency.

The Muiru group is one of
a growing number of youth-led projects that cultivate seedlings for
reforestation drives in the area.

Conmen

On a good day, Ntaru's
group can supply seedlings worth up to 20,000 Kenyan shillings (around $200),
sharing the profit among its 10 members.

Their vigilance pleases
Doreen Cianjoka, a widow in Weru who lost all the trees on her farm to conmen. Well-dressed
strangers came to her home and convinced her they could find a ready market for
her wood, she said.

After a few days, the
brokers came back with a team wielding chainsaws who cut down the trees and
split them for timber, but she never received any payment.

"The last I saw of
them was as they said goodbye from the lorry that came to carry away my
trees," she recalled. "I am hoping our young men and the chief will
help me track these bad people one day."

Whether or not her hopes
are met, other residents are unhappy about the stepped-up enforcement of
logging bans, which they blame for a shortage of timber.

Welcome Message

You are on the Ngarua Maarifa Centre's Blog. This is a community based I.C.T hub, that gives the communities of Ng'arua a platform to express themselves. And share their Knowledge and experiences with the rest of the world.